Deception

Works not working out?

One of the ruts I find myself in is the 'works' rut. I need to change this, or I need to get on with that, because if I don't God wont continue to bless me.

Then I read about Jacob. He was a deceiver - in fact, that was what his name meant until God changed his name. What we find out, though, is that Jacob never really got over it. He was a deceiver in the beginning, and he was a deceiver in the end.

Remember the birthright? Remember his dealings with Laban? Remember his dealings with Esau later? He deceived continually, and yet God called him an overcomer. If that doesn't blow your mind...

Gen 32:28
(28) And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

Jacob's name literally means "heel catcher". Does that remind anyone of an earlier prophecy?

Gen 3:15
(15) And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

So, in what ways did Jacob overcome? He sought God. He wrestled with God. He persisted with God. He learned. Contrast him to Esau, and you'll see that Esau never learned anything from God. That was the difference.

These thoughts are somewhat convoluted, but it speaks to me that God could use someone like Jacob, despite himself. Even if we feel unusable, continue to have a moldable heart and mind.